


Melt

by fluffyspy



Series: Naegiri Week 2017 [2]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Pre-Game(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-02-24 10:23:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13211766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fluffyspy/pseuds/fluffyspy
Summary: Junko placed her cafeteria tray down next to him, and patted the seat on her other side until Ikusaba took it. “Soooo, Naegi,” she began, sitting down.  “I hear you’re melting the local ice queen, huh?”--In which Junko takes too much of an interest in her classmates' love lives.





	Melt

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this for day two of Naegiri week. Found out I like writing Junko. Also, short shout-out to that one official 4koma where Kyoko refers to Makoto as "dangerously cute."

Makoto Naegi thought that he’d been doing a good job at making friends with all of his new classmates this year. He might not be an Ultimate, not really, but he was certainly more agreeable than most, and that was one thing he could pride himself on. Even when it came to people like the constantly-defensive Toko Fukawa or the arrogant and dismissive Byakuya Togami, he felt that he was at least making steps to get to understand them better, perhaps even getting to the point where he would consider them friends even if they wouldn’t return the sentiment.

But some of his classmates were much, much more difficult to get a handle on than others. For example? Junko Enoshima and Mukuro Ikusaba, the set of twins that seemed never to part. Mukuro, while not friendly by any means, was polite enough on the rare occasion that she wasn’t shadowing her sister, but mostly she just hung behind Junko and glared suspiciously at anyone she interacted with. That much, Makoto could deal with. She was, apparently, an ex-soldier; he understood how that might leave someone feeling wary and protective of their loved ones.

The real enigma was Junko. Sometimes she’d be peppy and interested—maybe a little  _too_  interested, though Makoto tried not to judge—in what her classmates had to say. Other days, she’d reply to every inquiry with a string of expletives or just sit alone (though Mukuro was always nearby) and sulk, sighing melodramatically to herself. Makoto felt a bit guilty for how nervous she made him; sometimes people were more vulnerable to mood swings than others, he knew that, and there were mental conditions that could cause dramatic personality shifts. He hated to think that he was judging her poorly over something she couldn’t control. But it was more than just that. Somehow, Junko had a knack for getting under people’s skin. She’d fret loudly that she worried her new exercise regimen would make her look too muscular and “mannish” for anyone to find attractive just as Sakura Ogami walked by. She’d lament to Kiyotaka Ishimaru that she tried to keep her grades up, but how could she ever manage when she was so naturally unintellectual, and after all, it was the skills you were born with, not the ones you worked for, that really mattered? Just last week, Makoto had overheard Junko asking Sayaka Maizono if she’d heard of that new all-female pop group that was leading all the charts, “and they all seem so close too! Hey, when’s the last time you saw the rest of your group?” It was entirely possible that these were all just unfortunate coincidences and Junko’s worst crime was being a little insensitive, but Makoto couldn’t help but feel unnerved every time she casually tossed out a sentence that struck right at one of their classmates’ emotional weak spots.

Knowing all this, he really shouldn’t have been surprised when she zeroed in on him, a big toothy smile on her face, the lunch period after what was at that point the most nerve-wracking night of his life. Junko placed her cafeteria tray down next to him, and patted the seat on her other side until Ikusaba took it. “Soooo, Naegi,” she began, sitting down.  “I hear you’re melting the local ice queen, huh?”

“Huh?” He glanced between them, already feeling like a fly caught in a spider’s web. A quick look around the cafeteria revealed that the only person present with the capability to rescue him was an upperclassman he recognized by their girth as the Ultimate Imposter. Unfortunately, the man of many faces seemed too distracted by their plate, piled high with food, to pay them any mind. Abruptly Makoto regretted choosing to eat lunch early.

Junko made a show of rolling her eyes, jabbing him harder than he’d like with her elbow. “Don’t play dumb! Everyone knows you asked out Trust Issues with the hands last night. Can’t believe you actually got her to say yes!”

“Uh.” Makoto wasn’t quite sure where to start with that statement. There was the fact that, apparently, “everyone” knew that he had asked Kyoko Kirigiri on a date, despite the fact that the only person he’d told about it aside from Kirigiri herself was his good friend, Asahina. As genuine as Asahina’s friendship was, she could be a bit of a blabbermouth, but that still didn’t explain how Junko knew Kirigiri had said yes when he hadn’t even updated Hina on the situation since receiving Kirigiri’s response. There was the litany of unflattering nicknames Junko had just unleashed upon Kirigiri. He could easily imagine her non-reaction if she had been present to hear them—one of the things he most admired about the detective was her ability to keep calm under pressure—but Makoto himself still felt compelled to defend her, especially given how she’d done nothing to earn Junko’s scorn. Then there was the whole “can’t believe you got her to say yes” thing, which, yes, shouldn’t have been a big deal. But Makoto had to admit it rankled him.

Before he could even begin to form his reply, Junko barreled on. “Honestly? I figured she only hung out with you because you’re the one person here who’s so clearly harmless. Like, she doesn’t like me because I’m, like, super nosy, y’know? And she doesn’t like Sis because Sis knows, what, a thousand and ten different ways to kill somebody? But what are  _you_  gonna do?” She pointed her chopsticks at him for emphasis. “Be too nice to her?”

There was a moment of thoughtful chewing before she added, “Well, I guess that’s what you did, after all.”

“I-I’m sure she doesn’t  _dislike_  you…” That probably shouldn’t have been the aspect Makoto focused on, especially since he wasn’t sure it was actually true. But this whole conversation—if such a one-sided dialogue could even be called that—was throwing him for a loop.  After the stress of asking Kiri last night, he’d been prepared to avoid any and all anxiety-inducing conversations until… well, until their date. Now his head was swimming; why was Junko so interested in his relationship? How did she even know about it in the first place? She wasn’t right when she said that Kirigiri only liked him because he was “harmless,” was she?

His panic was interrupted by the soft clunk of a tray being placed on the side of him where Junko and Mukuro weren’t seated. “Good morning, Naegi,” came a familiar voice.

Oh. Oh, this was going to be either very good or very, very bad.

“H-Hi, Kirigiri,” he stuttered. She raised an eyebrow at his obvious nerves, and then her eyes moved to the duo behind him. He imagined she was very easily connecting the dots.

Junko didn’t look even a little guilty as the detective frowned at her. She gave an exaggerated wave, showing her teeth in another wide grin. “Heeeey, girl! We were just talking about you!”

Makoto wasn’t going to have any appetite to actually eat his lunch at this point.

If Kirigiri was surprised by this news, she didn’t show it as she pulled her chair out and took a seat. “That’s appropriate,” she commented coolly, picking up her chopsticks. “I was just speaking about you as well.”

Junko’s smile abruptly turned to a scowl of annoyance as Kirigiri gestured behind herself, pointing at a positively irate-looking Ishimaru marching up to their table. “Enoshima! Ikusaba!” he boomed. “Hacking into the Hope’s Peak Academy security system is absolutely against school rules! I’m going to have to insist that you two go speak with the headmaster immediately!”

There was a moment where Makoto was sure that Junko was going to put up a fight, but in the end she simply flipped one of her ponytails and moved to stand up. “Eh, fair enough. C’mon, Sis.”

Mukuro didn’t even reply as she followed after her twin, the two exiting the cafeteria. Now that he could breathe again, Makoto noticed that the rest of the student body was starting to filter in. No one was paying much attention to Ishimaru’s latest rule crackdown.

The hall monitor clapped Kirigiri on the back. He was too caught up in his victory to notice the way her eyes narrowed in annoyance at him, but Makoto did. “Well done identifying the culprits, friend! Giving anyone other than authorized security personnel access to the surveillance tapes would have been a disaster!”

“I’m sure Enoshima has already watched some of the recent tapes,” said Kirigiri. “It was a reference she made to events last evening that initially tipped me off. Still, if the system was compromised only this morning, she hasn’t had very long to go through the footage.”

Ishimaru glowered at the lack of respect for school property. “Unbelievable! To commit such an indecent act… I must proceed to the headmaster’s office and ensure that their punishment is fitting!”

“Don’t tell the headmaster I was involved!” came Kirigiri’s hurried request as Ishimaru filed out of the room. It was probably useless and both Makoto and Kirigiri knew it; if Ishimaru was even capable of lying, he hadn’t shown it through the entire semester they’d known him. She sighed after he left. “I really wish I didn’t have to bring him into it.”

Makoto blinked, still trying to digest all of the new information he’d just received. “Wait. Enoshima and Ikusaba… hacked into the security system this morning?”

“Well, I would imagine it was Enoshima’s idea, but yes. I suppose I should thank you. If I hadn’t heard her speaking to you, I wouldn’t have realized that she was the perpetrator.”

So, that explained how Junko knew about their upcoming date. It also meant—“So, you heard that whole thing back there?” Makoto couldn’t see his own face, but he knew it was beet red.

“I did step in as soon as it sounded like you were really having trouble dealing with her.”

“O-Oh… Yeah, thanks…”

“And for the record…” Was that a hint of pink on Kirigiri’s cheeks as well? “She was wrong. I don’t just think you’re harmless.”

Makoto felt the corners of his mouth turn up. “Yeah?”

“Yes.” Then she was leaning in to lightly kiss his cheek, and he thought he might internally combust. “You,” she whispered, voice only slightly wobbly. “Are dangerously cute.”


End file.
